Twelve proven Steelhead flies in a box for a great deal. If you have a Steelhead angler on your Christmas list this is a fine gift. We will even gift wrap it for you if you’d like!
A steal at only $19.95. Click here to order or stop by the shop to pick yours up.
This week we’re updating the fly tying pages where we collect all of our videos. We started with the most pressing subject: steelhead fly patterns. At this point, we’ve tied, videotaped, and posted around fifty patterns, collected on this page.
So crack open a beer, unzip a bag of jerky and get on the vise. Look for updates to our trout, saltwater and salmon patterns pages coming this week.
-MS
We continue “25 Deals of the Day until Christmas” with an excellent book from Portland author Chris Santella. We have some signed copies available. Normally $24.95 today’s deal is $19.95 on a hard bound copy of “50 More Places to Fly Fishing Before you Die” click here to order your copy. A fantastic gift for the angler!
Winter Steelhead are on the way to an Oregon Coastal River near you. In this video Barrett uses the EP Tarantula Hairy Leg Brush to create a leech pattern with incredible movement. We see this “buggy” “flowee” steelhead pattern working on the swing, or dead drift, Summer and Winter.
Egg Sucking Tarantula Leg Leech
Hook: Daiichi 2141 # 2
Thread: Lagartun 150x-strong black
Tail: Black Rabbit Strip
Body: EP Tarantula Hairy Legs 1 inch
Collar: Silver Pheasant
Head: Red Senyo Laser Dub
Eyes: Hareline Heavy Lead Eyes
Today’s deal is 18 flies plus a box for the great price of only $25. The Guides Pick Fly Selection has 12 Possie Buggers and 6 Half Down Golden Stones. These are our go to Hopper Dropper flies and catch fish at least 3 months out of the season on the McKenzie and Willamette Rivers. Both Flies are very effective all over the West and Rocky Mountain States. The Half Down Golden imitates both Golden Stone Flies and Hoppers, the Possie Bugger is an excellent Caddis pupae or small minnow imitation.
We pick the sizes for the selection, Possie Buggers will run #10-12 and the Half Downs will be #8-10s.
For 24 hours this incredibly durable, totally waterproof tackle bag is on sale at a great price of $134.00 Normally $179 while supplies last.
It’s cooled down considerably since the photos in this post were shot but we have some fine water conditions currently. The Middle Fork below and above Dexter Dam are very “fishable”. The section near Oakridge is as low as it’s been all year. Nymphing will be the ticket with stonefly nymphs, small Pheasant Tails, Princes and Copper Johns. Continue reading
The Avalon Crab fly is said to have been responsible for more Permit being caught than any other fly in the world over the past 15 years. It does have quite a bit going for it, with moving claws and snapping beads it does draw the fishes attention. In this video Barrett ties a size 2 which is ideal for a Permit focused pattern. Give it a shot in some smaller sizes for Bonefish or Permit on your next Saltwater trip.
Avalon Crab Fly
Hook: S12S Gamakatsu # 2
Thread: Lagartun 150x Rusty Orange
Tail: UV Steelhead Stalkers Yarn Orange
Legs: Crazy Legs Pumpkin Purple Flake
Rattle: 20lbs Mono and Gold beads
Body: Diamond Braid Bonefish Tan
Claws/Legs: Brown Barred Rabbit Strips Tan
Eyes: Painted Lead Eyes Yellow.
The Hairy Legged Bonefish Toad fly is deadly on small Tarpon, Bonefish, Mutton Snapper, Jacks and the list goes on. A perfect mix of movement and mottled color have fish turning their heads in saltwater flats environs. Using the new EP Tarantula Hairy Leg Brush Barrett makes this “crab head” look easy. We love the Hairy Leg Brush for it’s durability and easy of application.
Hairy Legged Bonefish Toad
Hook: Gamakatsu SL45
Thread: Lagartun 150x Rusty Orange
Tail: Pseudo Hair Tan
Rear Collar: Gold Variant Cross Cut Rabbit
Legs: Crazy Legs Pumpkin Purple Flake
Body: EP Tarantula Leg Brush 1/2″ Tan
Eyes: Heavy Lead Eyes
These last few weeks I’ve spent chasing late season chinook with RR. Some days it has been quiet enough to hear the dinner-plate sized maple leaves falling in the woods. Others, the bobbers are exploding the surface all around us like grenades being launched. Salmon splash under alders and myrtlewood. Leaves stack eight feet deep on a riverbend after a windstorm. Fists balled against the cold, colder still after losing a big fish.
I picked up my first fly-caught Siuslaw chinook, disproving my theory that these local salmon don’t bite. But I’ve mostly spent the last few weekends back bouncing kwikfish in huge water I’d never have considered fishing. To steal Ethan’s term – it’s tactile, exploring these pools with your hands. It’s practically like snorkeling in the swirling, rushing water, prowling the depths where fresh fish are likely to hold. I’ve caught fish in places I’d never considered fishable with any kind of tackle. All in all, a good few weeks learning about these awesome fish after they leave the estuary. -MS
Finally, steelheaders have a coffee-table book that captures the essence and excitement of our sport! Will Godfrey, one of the most important and influential angler/advocates of our day, teamed up with world-class outdoor photographer Drew Stoeklein to produce this stunning masterpiece. I do not dish out such praise lightly, and this special book deserves much more. You’ve got to see it to believe it.
Swing by the shop for a peek!
Purchase Seasons of the Steelhead with free shipping and no sales tax online here:
Seasons of the Steelhead
Fish Skull Sculpin Helmets are heavily weighted head you add to your streamer or baitfish patterns. In this short video Barrett Christiansen demonstrates how to create a Bunny Sculpin with the new Sculpin Helmets. These are heavy duty heads and they really get down fast, they have application both fresh and saltwater.
Sculpin Helmet Bunny Sculpin
Hook: TMC 200R #2-6
Thread: Lagartun 150x-strong
Tail: Black Barred Rabbit Strips Olive
Body: Olive/Black Crosscut Rabbit Strips
Hackle: India Hen Back Olive
Head: Sculpin Helmet
The North Coast received a handful of early winter steelhead over the last few days, marking the unofficial beginning of the “ocean steelhead” season. That’s Canadian science-speak for steelhead that spend most of their lives in saltwater, versus “river steelhead” which spend a ridiculous amount of time in freshwater. If you’re like me, ocean fish are the ones that made a real angler out of you. They seem to bring out the hard-core in a steelheader, and they tend to be the animal that flips the “addict” switch in the real sickos.
This wild hen was hanging out with my salmon buddies when she decided to flip my universe upside-down. I’ll spare you the cliché-ridden description of the whooping she dished out. But I will say that she shocked me out of my salmon stupor, and got me day-dreaming about the possibilities in the wild months ahead!
Let’s hear it for ocean steelhead!
-RR
Trout Unlimited announced it is asking permission from the federal district court in Portland to withdraw as a plaintiff from a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation over the agencies’ inadequate plans to recover Columbia and Snake River salmon runs, opting instead to seek resolution through collaborative forum involving all major stakeholders.
Since the mid-1990s, TU and a diverse group of conservation and fishing interests have successfully challenged every plan issued by the federal agencies to offset the enormous harm federal hydroelectric dams inflict on wild salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers – most recently this past summer.
“Without question, this litigation has been pivotal in obtaining improvements in dam operations and fish habitat that have helped slow the decline of wild salmon and steelhead,” said Chris Wood, TU’s president and CEO. “But slowing decline isn’t enough. We need to recover these remarkable fish, and one way to do that is to sit down with the people most affected by salmon recovery and work out an agreement that meets their economic needs while recovering these fish of enormous cultural, economic and ecologic value.”
Hells Canyon Dam photo by Sam Beebe, Ecotrust
Two wilderness proposals are coming closer to fruition in Southwestern Oregon, according to The Oregonian. Check out the link for a great shot of Rep. DeFazio perched on the river bank after a grueling hike in.
Devil’s Staircase near Coos Bay and the Rogue River near Agness made Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior’s list for protection. The Rogue is already protected as wilderness, so Salazar is recommending adjacent land additions
